The limitations of original works, and how to grow your audience through print

No one said being a successful artist is easy – let’s face it, most famous artists didn’t get recognition for their work until after they’d already died.

And while not many artists are asking for the fortune and fame of Van Gogh, simply reaching new audiences and sustaining a profitable businesses can still be incredibly challenging.

Printing can often be disregarded as an option by artists – it lacks originality, it’s too difficult, it costs too much. There’s a lot of opinions, but if done right, print can overcome them all and provide you with an entire new audience in which to sell.

Art has no limits – until it does

In my experience, many artists are tempted to focus on original pieces. But when trying to increase exposure and profitability of your artwork, originals can limit you.

The time it takes to create originals or commissions can mean you’re finishing less work, reaching a smaller audience, and therefore making less sales.

While there’s no substitute for original artwork, for some audiences, a print can be a more accessible way to enjoy art.

Even so, print is no small feat. Most printers have limits on the minimum number of prints they can run at once, and the cost can get quite high. And the pressure is on to sell them quickly.

Think small, achieve big

Stepping into print can be overwhelming, and it can also end up being a significant investment – which can squander the potential possibilities.

That’s why we offer small batch printing to artists.

It allows you to make limited edition copies, bringing a feeling of uniqueness even to a non-original print. It takes away the stress of storing dozens and dozens of prints, let alone trying to flip them faster than a lovable couple on The Block.

And, you can spend more time growing your audience, and giving more people a chance to own some beautiful art and support a local artist (that’s you).

Get more of what you need

When you commission your prints, you’ll discover you have:

More work to sell or exhibit

More time to work on commissions

More exposure to a wider audience

An opportunity to minimise out-of-pocket expenses

But what about quality?

Well, quality is the number 1 concern most artists have when planning their prints. That’s why we’ve developed our own intricate process to deliver the highest quality prints – we’ll explain it more in our next blog.

So, it can pay to think out of the box. While originals are beautiful, trying your hand at print can open the door to an art-loving audience you didn’t previously have access to – and a whole lot more time you never thought you’d have.